Pragmatic Justifications for the Sustainable City

Drawing on the American pragmatic tradition and the recent pragmatic French sociological theory, Meg Holden develops a fresh and illuminating approach to issues of urban sustainability and justice. She perceptively discusses recent debates and persuasively shows how a pragmatic orientation provides a more flexible and realistic way of moving forward with urban planning. Throughout she shows a subtle way of integrating theory and practice. Richard J. Bernstein, New School for Social Research, USA In our pursuit of urban justice and sustainability 'despair is not an option' argues Meg Holden but 'willingness to compromise' is. Using anti-foundational, humanist, core pragmatic ideas alongside more contemporary analytical interpretations, she critiques sustainable development concepts, plans and policies and articulates a hopeful, moral platform on which to learn about, talk about and ultimately build sustainable cities. Professor Julian Agyeman, Tufts University, USA Why don't we have more books like this? Smart, theoretically astute, profoundly relevant, morally engaged, and thought-provoking. Meg Holden has written an outstanding book. Everyone working in the value-inflected world of urban studies should read this book. Robert A. Beauregard, Columbia University, USA In this compelling book Meg Holden charts a new pathway to the sustainable city, guided by the spirit and philosophy of pragmatism. In dispirited times, this is a much needed and unique contribution to those most pressing challenges in the urban age: justice, sustainability and democracy. Here hope is not the misty ideal of political rhetoric, but the hammer that must be applied to the anvil of pragmatism to fashion, at last, that most elusive object, the sustainable city. Brendan Gleeson, University of Melbourne, Australia